Mobile laboratory



July 3, 1962 J. M. LIPTAY 3,0

MOBILE LABORATORY Filed Aug. 14, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

JOHN M. LIPTAY ATTORNEY July 3, 1962 J. M. LIPTAY 3,041,957

MOBILE LABORATORY Filed Aug. 14, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

JOHN M. LIPTAY ATTORNEY.

FIG.4

Unite States 3,041,957 MOBILE LABORATORY John M. Liptay, Manhasset,N.Y., assignor to Laboratory Furniture Company, Inc., Mineola, N.Y., acorporation of New York Filed Aug. 14, 1959, Ser. No. 833,768 8 Claims.((31. 98-115) This invention relates to a laboratory for conductingexperiments. More particularly, it relates to a mobile laboratory inwhich experiments may be conveniently conducted in any desired locationor place.

It is common to construct school science buildings, laboratories, andlike structures with special rooms and facilities for conductingexperiments including chemical experiments. Such specially designedrooms generally include an elaborate demonstration table equipped withwater supply, electricity, gas outlets, and numerous other necessaryfeatures and equipment for conducting experiments. Because of their bulkand size, the demonstration tables require rooms of large area for theiraccommodation. They are expensive and moreover, the equipment containedin them and the special wiring and plumbing necessary for theirinstallation and erection often place them beyond the financial capacityof institutions requiring their use.

The present invention is directed to the solution of the aforementionedproblems. It is the desideratum of this invention to provide a safe yetinexpensive mobile laboratory equipped with the basic essentials tofacilitate the use of electricity, liquids, and gases safely andeconomically, thereby eliminating the great expense of massive fixed orstationery laboratory tables that are completely immobile and thereforelimit the capacity of the viewing audience. Although attempts in thisdirection have been made toward the solution of the aforementionedproblems, these have been unsuccessful.

It is an object of the invention to provide a vehicular apparatus thatis completely mobile so that it may be moved from place to place, intoany desired room, classroom, auditorium, or wherever the need for itsuse may arise, for the purpose of demonstrating a chemical or otherphysical experiment.

It is another object of the invention to provide a mobile laboratoryhaving a work area that is completely enclosed yet fully transparent andopen to view about its front and sides to enable whole classes oraudiences of viewers to clearly see a chemical or other physicalexperiment being conducted therein without the need to peer aboutinterposed pillars, posts, or other interfering vision obstructingsupports.

It is still another object of the invention to provide a mobilelaboratory in which chemical or other experiments may be conducted withease and with a complete feeling of safety on the part of the viewersand the demonstrator, both of whom are adequately protected fromdangerous or noxious fumes or the spattering splash of harmful liquids.To this end certain features of the invention reside in novelarrangements of details of construction that permit the withdrawal ofthe noxious or dangerous fumes from the work area to exhaust them at aplace where they will cause no damage to either the viewers or thedemonstrator.

A further feature of the invention resides in the provision of anentranceway of novel design permitting access to the work area, and ofdoor means that may be variably operated to provide greater or lesseraccess to the work area while providing the demonstrator with a fullview of the conduct of the experiment.

Other and further objects of my invention reside in the structures andarrangements hereinafter more fully 3,641,957 Fatented July 3, 1962 2described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a mobile laboratory construction inaccordance with the teaching of the invention and with the doors thereofin open position,

FIG. 2 is a rear elevation of the mobile laboratory with the doors inclosed position,

FIG. 3 is a side view of FIG. 2,

FIG. 4 is a front View of FIG. 2,

FIG. 5 is a top view of FIG. 2,

FIG. 6 is a partial view of the side of the housing showing one of thedoors latched in its open position, and,

FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 6 showing the doors in their fullyopened position as in FIG. 1.

Referring now to the drawings, the mobile laboratory shown therein isgenerally identified by the numeral 10. The laboratory comprises avehicular body member in the form of a cabinet generally identified bythe numeral 12. The member 12 is adapted to be moved about easily fromplace to place, therefore, it is provided with a plurality of wheels orrollable elements. In order that the laboratory 10 may be easily movedabout along corridors, twisted through doors and in and out of narrowspaces, one side set of wheels 14a are mounted on fixed casters to thebase or bottom of the member 12. The other set of wheels 14b are mountedto the base of the member 12 by swivel casters thus enabling the set ofwheels 14b to swing freely beneath the body member 12, therebypermitting controlled manual maneuvering of the mobile laboratory 10 asit is wheeled about. A handle 16 facilitates the manually guidedmovements of the vehicular structure.

The body member 12 is in the form of a cabinet having a table top 18.The cabinet may include a plurality of drawers 20 in which variousarticles may be placed. These articles may include bottles or canisterscontaining elements or chemicals necessary in the performance ofchemical or physical experiments to be conducted in the mobilelaboratory 10. Since the construction of these drawers may be of anywell-known arrangement, the details thereof form no specific part of theinvention. In like manner the door .22 (FIG. 1) leading to the interiorof a portion of the cabinet 12 may be of any desired construction.

In FIG. 2 the door 22 is removed to expose an arrangement of elementsthat have been utilized in conducting experiments in the mobilelaboratory 10. In this regard, it will be noted that a water or otherfluid-containing canister 24 may be positioned within the cabinet member12 beneath a spigot 26 and connected therewith by a flexible hose 23.The fluid from the canister 24 may be pumped or sucked therefrom to beexhausted from the spigot 26 by the pumping operation of a handle 39forming a part of the plumbing.

The liquid dispensed at the spigot 26 is directed toward a sink or trap32 therebeneath which is, in return, connected with canister 34 by aflexible hose 36. Thus, before the performance of an experiment thecanister 24 may be filled with a desired fluid, as water, which may bepumped therefrom to be dispensed at the spigot 25'; for use by theexperimenter. Waste water will drip or flow into the sink 32 beneath thespigot and will enter the waste canister 34 which may be emptied at anyde sired time.

If certain gases are required in the performance of an experiment forthe use of a Bunsen burner or like instrument, there is provided a gasspigot 38 controlled by a handle 40. The spigot 38 receives its supplyof gas from a bottle or other container 42 that may be mounted withinthe interior compartment of the cabinet 12 by straps 44 or by any otherconvenient means. The use of the spigot 38 is very similar to thatpresently employed in fixed laboratory tables having a supply of gaseousfluids. As is the practice, a flexible line or hose of sufficient lengthmay be connected to the spigot 38 and directed into work area of themobile labortary 16 presently to be described.

In practice, electricity is conveniently supplied for the performance ofcertain experiments requiring the same. In the present invention this isaccomplished by the electrical outlets 46 mounted on the rear panel ofcabinet 12. The supply of electricity to the outlets 46 may becontrolled by the operation of a simple toggle switch 48. The outlets 46and interposed switch 48 may be conveniently plugged into or connectedwith a source of electricity in any room or place into which thelaboratory is wheeled by withdrawing an electrical plug 58 extending outfrom one side of the cabinet and connecting the same with any convenientavailable source of current.

The electrical cord 52 may be wound or coiled about a reel 54 mountedwithin the cabinet 12 so that the plug 50 can be extended varyingdistances from the cabinet 12 or mobile laboratory Til and connectedwith a source of electricity without restricting the location orposition of the laboratory. The reel 54 may be of wellknown constructionto rewind the cord 52 thereabout when the plug 58 is disengaged from thesource of electricity into which it is adapted to be connected.

The mobile laboratory 10 is provided with an enclosure or work area (notnumbered) that occupies a substantial portion of the table top 18. Thework area is defined by a housing generally identified by the numeral56. The housing 56 is of unique construction in that it providescomplete uninterrupted and unobstructed vision of the work area and,consequently, the experiment conducted therein. Housing 56 isspecifically designed and arranged to include a surface member 58 thatfully encompasses and defines the front and sides of the work area.

Surface member 58 is completely transparent fully about its singularuninterrupted lengthwise and widthwise extent. In the drawings it isshown to be arcuate in shape to define the front and sides of the workarea. In practice the are about which the transparent surface member 58is described has its centerpoint 60 (FIG. located inward of the rear ofthe housing. The terminating side walls 62 of the transparent member 58are substantially parallel and extend rearwardly beyond the centerpoint60. Thus, the extent of the surface member 58 is su'lficient to providea viewing range of the enclosed work area that is greater than or atleast not less than 180 along a horizontal plane.

Those watching the experiment being performed in the work area have anability to view the same from at least the front and sides thereof. Theends of the surface or wall 58 terminate in an entranceway that isdefined in the housing 56 and bounded by the top wall 64 thereof. Toprovide for substantially complete visibility of the interior of thework area of the housing 56 from the front, sides and top thereof, thetop member 64 is also made of a transparent material and is suitablyconnected to the vertically disposed wall 58 by metallic angularconnecting members 66, 68, and 70.

The connecting member 66 is joined to the top rim of the verticallydisposed transparent member 58 and has secured to it the transparent topwall 64. The angularly shaped vertically disposed connecting postmembers 68 and 70 serve to cover the terminating edges of the member 58and to provide supports thereat. The lower rim of the member 58 may besecured to the table top 18 by a connecting band 72 that has angledbrackets 74 (FIG. 1) secured thereto at one leg thereof, while the otherleg of the brackets is fixed to the table top 18. b

The specific details of the connecting bands and brackets 66-74 may bevaried, since it has been found possible to form the side wall member 58integral with the top wall 64 thereby eliminating the angular arcuatelyshaped connecting member 66.

The opening of the entranceway defined in the housing 56 providingaccess to the work area therein may be varied in size by the manualmovement or operation of a plurality of door means mounted on thehousing. Such door means comprise a pair of door members 76 and 78. Forease of description the door member 76 is referred to as the upper door,while the door member 78 is referred to as the lower door. Both doorsare hingedly connected together at 80 (FIGS. 6 and 7). The upper doors76 is secured to an elongated leg 82 of a hinge, the other leg 84 ofwhich is secured to the top of the housing 56. In practical operationthere are two such elongated hinges including the legs 82 and 84 thatare spaced from each other. The elongated leg 82 permits the two doors76 and 78 to be pivotly moved into and out of the entranceway.

In FIGS. 1 and 7 the door means is shown in its open or inactiveposition wherein the same are positioned fully out of the entranceway ofthe work area and are supported at the top 64 of the housing 56. To varythe size of the opening of the work area entranceway, the doors 76 and78 are moved as a unit from their inactive open position as shown inFIGS. 1 and 7 toward their partial closing position as shown in FIG. 6.The upper door 76 is positioned within the entranceway but spaced fromthe top boundary thereof by the elongated leg 82 of the hinge means.Thus, an opening is defined in the housing between the top of the upperdoor 76 and the top defining wall of the entranceway facilitated by theelongated hinge leg 82. This opening between the upper door 76 and theupper Wall of the entranceway may be termed a top air inlet 86 (FIGS. 2,4 and 6).

The weight of the door 76 and of the lower door 78 latched to the outersurface thereof in a manner to be described is sufiicient to retain thesame within the confines of the entranceway as shown in FIG. 6. However,is has been found in practice that the use of spring pressed detents 88provided in the upright connecting members 68 and 70 of the housing 56,cooperating with correspondingly positioned receiving openings 90 in thedoor 76 will serve to releasably retain the door in the entrancewayuntil manual pressure is applied to the door to lift it out of theentranceway.

Lower door 78, being hingedly mounted at 80 to the upper door 76, may belatchingly retained out of the entranceway in the manner shown in FIG. 6while the door 76 is releasably retained therein. This is facilitated bythe provision of a substantially L-shaped latch members 92 that aresecured to the outer surfaces of the elongated leg 82 of each of theupper hinge structures. Each upper leg 82 is thus provided with a latchmember 92 that terminates in a spring coiled portion 94. When it isdesired to retain the lower door 78 latched out of the entranceway thesame is manually lifted and moved radially about the pivot of the hinge80 toward the upper door 76 in the direction of the arrow 96 as shown inFIG. 6. Almost any forceful radial movement of the door 78 is sufficientto pass it beneath the coiled portions 94 of each latch member 92,causing the leg of the latch member to flex slightly. This flexingpermits the lower trailing edge of the lower door 78 to pass beneath thecoiled portions 94 and to be locked thereby beneath the latch member.Accordingly, the lower door 78 is latched to the upper door 76 and ispositioned out of the entranceway.

If it is desired to lower the door 78, the same is grasped manually atits sides or intermediate the two spaced latch members 92 and pulleddown to flex the coiled portions 94 out of engagement therewith. Theweight of the door 78 will cause it to swing down about the hinge 88into the confines of the entranceway. Like the upper door 76, door 78 issimilarly provided with grooves or openings 90 for engagement withreleasable deten ts 88a whereby the same will be retained within theentranceway.

It will be recognized that the unique arrangement of door structure andhinge means permits each of the doors 78 and 76 to be moved into and outof the entranceway opening either one at a time or both at the sametime. Because the overall length of the two doors 76 and 78 is smalleror less than that of the opening of the entranceway into which the samemove, they also provide a bottom air inlet that is defined in thehousing between the lower edge of the lower door 78 and the table top18. The bottom air inlet is numbered 98 in FIG. 2.

Each of the doors 76 and 78 is provided with a transparent window. Sincethe experimenter performs the experiment in the work area by standingbehind the doors, he is permitted full view of the experiment throughsuch doors while the audience has a clear view of the experiment throughthe transparent work enclosure member 58. The experimenter has theability to conduct his experiment without lifting the doors 78 or 76 byreaching into the work area through the bottom air inlet opening 98;however, the doors provide him with greater access to the work area ifsuch is required.

Positioned within the work area is a vertically disposed standard orsupport 100 on which the experimenter may clamp test tubes or other likeelements necessary in the conduct of the experiment. The standard 100serves not only as a work support for the articles employed in theexperiment, but also as a support for the top 64 of the housing 56 towhich it is connected at its upper end 102 and at its lower end to thetable top 18.

The experimenter, like the audience, is protected from the danger of thespread of noxious fumes or gases which are efficiently exhausted orwithdrawn from the work area during the performance of the experiment.This is accomplished by the provision of a vent 104 within the workarea. The vent is conically shaped so that work elements may not beplaced thereon during the course of an experiment and possibly close offor hamper the withdrawal of the fumes or gases from the work area. Inpractice the vent 104 is made of a mesh or perforated material.

Referring to FIG. 4, it will be seen that the vent communicates with theinterior of the mobile cabinet 12 by Way of a duct 106. Positionedbeneath the duct 106 is an exhaust fan 108 that has its exhaust opening110 terminating at a side wall of the cabinet. When the mobilelaboratory is moved into the desired room for the performance of theexperiment, a flexible hose 112 (FIGS. 4 and 5) provided with thelaboratory 19 and removable from the cabinet 12 in which it iscontained, may be conveniently plugged into the exhaust opening 110 atits one end. The other end of the hose 112 may be passed through awindow or similar opening thereby permitting the exhaust fan 108 towithdraw the air fumes and gases from the work area and to dispense itin some nondangerous location.

Gas, fumes and air Withdrawn from the Work area by the operation of thefan 108 is replaced in the work area by the suction that is created atthe top and bottom air inlet openings 86 and 98 respectively. Air suckedinto the work area through the top air inlet 36 causes the lighternoxious fumes or gases accumulating in the top of the housing 56 to movedown through the vent 104 and out of the room by way of the flexibleexhaust hose 112. The heavier fumes or gases collecting at the bottom ofthe Work area within the housing 56 will be displaced by the air suckedinto the work area through the bottom air inlet 98.

The novel combination of top and bottom air inlets thus prevents theaccumulation of dangerous fumes or gases within the work area either atthe top or bottom thereof. The audience is protected from the spattering6 or splashing of dangerous chemicals or other liquids by the fullytransparent vertically disposed enclosure surface 58. The experimenteris similarly protected by the movable doors 76 and 78 that may beoperated to variably open and close the entranceway to the work area.

While there have been shown and described and pointed out thefundamental novel features of the invention as applied to a preferredembodiment thereof, it will be understood that various omissions andsubstitutions and changes in the form and details of the deviceillustrated and in its operation may be made by those skilled in theart, without departing from the spirit of the invention. It is theintention, therefore, to be limited only as indicated by the scope ofthe claims appended hereto.

I claim:

1. A mobile laboratory for conducting experiments comprising a cabinet,rollable means on said cabinet by which the same may be moved, saidcabinet having a table top, a transparent uninterrupted enclosure onsaid top defining an unobstructed work area in which experiments may beconducted and viewed from without, said enclosure having an entrancewayto said work area defined therein, door means on said enclosure variablein size movable to variably reduce the size of the enclosureentranceway, a constantly open air inlet defined between said door meansand the top of said enclosure entranceway when said door means is movedto reduce the size of the enclosure entranceway, and means on saidmobile laboratory to cause the movement of air through said air inlet.

2. A mobile laboratory for conducting experiments comprising a movablemember having a top, a housing enclosing a work area above the top andin which experiments may be performed, said housing including anunobstructed uninterrupted transparent member shaped to form at leastthe front and side portions of said enclosed Work area, said housinghaving an entranceway to provide access to said work area, door means onsaid housing variable in size and operable to reduce the size of saidentranceway and being smaller than said entranceway to leave a portionthereof constantly open, and means included in said mobile laboratory tocause the movement of air through said constant opening.

3. A mobile laboratory for conducting experiments comprising a deviceadapted to be moved about and having a work area in which experimentsmay be performed, a housing defining said Work area and including atransparent member permitting unobstructed vision of said work areaabout the enclosed sides and front thereof, an entranceway defined insaid housing to provide access to said work area, door means on saidhousing variable in size and movable to completely open said entrancewayand closable to reduce the size thereof, said door means being smallerthan said entranceway to constantly leave open at least a portion at thetop thereof when the same is closed, and means included in said mobilelaboratory to cause the movement of air through said constant opening.

4. A mobile laboratory in which experiments may be conducted comprisinga vehicle, said vehicle having a work area in which the experiments maybe performed, a housing defining said work area and including at leasttransparent means permitting unobstructed vision of the experiment insaid work area about at least the sides and front thereof, anentranceway defined in said housing, door means variable in size in saidentranceway, vent means in said work area, suction means communicatingwith said vent means to withdraw the air from said work area, and airinlet openings defined in said housing through which air outside thework area is drawn thereinto, said door means being smaller in size thansaid entranceway to leave a portion thereof constantly open.

5. A mobile laboratory in which experiments may be conducted comprisinga housing, including an unobstructed vertically disposed transparentmember defining a work area in which experiments may be conducted, anentranceway defined in said housing at the terminal ends of said member,door means variable in size and movable into and out of said entrancewayand being smaller than said entranceway to leave a portion thereofconstantly open, air inlet openings defined in said housing, a mobilemember on which said housing is mounted for movement therewith, ventmeans in said work area, and suction means in said mobile membercommunicating with said vent means to withdraw the air from said workarea and to draw air into said work area through said air inletopenings.

6. A mobile laboratory for conducting experiments comprising a housingincluding at least an unobstructed transparent surface defining a workarea in which experiments may be conducted and through which surfacesuch experiments may be viewed, an entranceway defined in said housing,a pair of doors on said housing, hinge means to enable said doors to bemoved into said entranceway to define air inlet openings between saiddoors and the top and bottom of said entranceway and to enable saiddoors to be moved out of said entranceway, hinge means between saiddoors, and latch means on one of said doors to latch the other door outof said entranceway while the one door is moved therein.

7. A movable laboratory comprising a cabinet having Wheels on which thesame may be moved and a handle by which said cabinet may be manuallydirected in its movement, a table top on said cabinet having gas andliquid openings defined therein for communication with the interior ofsaid cabinet, a rigid housing on said cabinet extended upwardly from thetop thereof and shaped to define a substantially arcuate work area inwhich laboratory experiments may be conducted, said housing including acontinuous uninterrupted transparent member defining the front and sidesof said arcuate work area to enable the experiments in said area to beviewed from without the same thrughout an angle of at least 180 along ahorizontal plane, and door means on said housing being variable in sizeand movable to define a greater or lesser access opening to said workarea said door means being smaller than said entranceway to leave aportion thereof constantly open.

8. In a laboratory table, a housing in which experiments may beconducted, a vertically disposed member defining at least the front andthe sides of the housing, said member being transparent and of unitaryconstruction to provide unobstructed and uninterrupted vision of theinterior of said housing from the outside thereof about at least saidfront and said sides, an entranceway defined in said housing at the rearthereof, door means hinged on said housing and movable in saidentranceway to vary the size of the opening thereof, vent means in saidhousing through which air in the housing may be withdrawn therefrom, andconstant air inlet means defined in said housing above and below saiddoor means through which air outside of said housing may be drawnthereinto.

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